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any good."
"The other thing you have to understand,"
says Black, getting serious again, "is that Na
-
ples, Florida, has some of the fnest superin-
tendents in the country. There are a lot of re-
ally sharp guys, and the sharing of failures is
what has always intrigued me in this business.
What we get right is almost taken for granted.
When things are bad, there are so many guys
who are willing to stop and help and tell you
what worked for them. That's a part of the
business that I hope never dies."
Final decisions
When we checked in with Black this past
summer, fnal decisions had yet to be reached
about just what turf he and Rogers would in
-
stall on the Preserve Course. This is the other
key component of the renovation, and Black is
still researching the matter with his colleagues
in Naples and the USGA.
"We're awaiting the USGA report as we
speak," Black says. "There are off-types of
bermuda that have contaminated our existing
(ultradwarf ) surfaces. Basically, it's not unlike
Poa does with bent greens. It's a bermuda-
grass type, but it behaves differently than the
intended type. The growth habit, the suscep
-
tibility to drought, pests and disease is slightly
different. That makes it tough because you
have to treat one green different than you treat
another. Something might be more effective
on one green than another, and that creates in
-
consistent playing conditions for the golfers."
"All this became very apparent to me over
the past four to fve years," Black continues.
"The last few we've had drought in summer
and hot humid weather in the fall, which is
perfect for disease. And if you don't have
greens that drain adequately or properly, you
Returning Quail West's putting surfaces to their original design features and characteristics is job
one of the club's upcoming renovation project.
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